Instant Messaging (“IM”) has become one of the most popular ways of communicating over the Internet, replacing the use of e-mail in some applications. With e-mail or other communication services, such as fax, a user generally has no way of knowing if the entity to whom the user is sending the e-mail or fax is actually receiving the message. Lacking an immediate response a user cannot be sure if the desired recipient is present to receive the message or if the message was actually received at the desired location. This lack of an immediate response to an urgent communication is especially important when ordering goods and/or services that require fast delivery. For example, replacement parts for critical equipment and particular services needed in an emergency situation may require an immediate and direct communication between a consumer and a vendor. Another example is ordering food from a restaurant for take out or delivery where availability of particular items and on-time performance may be very important to the consumer and the vendor hoping for repeat business.
A known method for direct and immediate communication between a consumer and a vendor is the traditional telephone. However, in the context of ordering food for example the use of the telephone has significant drawbacks. At the restaurant end an employee must be available to man the phones at all times. During peak ordering periods multiple employees may be required, substantially increasing overhead. The very nature of a verbal communications link between the consumer and the restaurant leads to errors in the order, delivery location errors and lack of security when sending credit card information. Also, for some consumers who may be distracted or unsure of what to order, the taking of an order may take a substantial amount of time which disrupts the entire food delivery process. At the consumer end busy signals or no answer calls are a significant annoyance as well as mistakes in the order, incorrect delivery times, etc. These same drawbacks exist in other areas requiring fast delivery and error free ordering as well as in restaurant delivery situations.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an ordering system and method which allows direct and immediate contact between a vendor and a consumer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ordering system and method which is fast and accurate both for the consumer and the vendor.
Various other Internet based methods and systems exist for ordering goods and/or services in addition to the telephone. For example, in the restaurant pick up and delivery market Campus Foods.com allows a consumer to log on to a Campus Foods website and choose items from a restaurant menu. The consumer's order is sent directly to Campus Foods and Campus Foods generates a fax listing the items ordered by the consumer which is faxed to the restaurant. The consumer's order is generally confirmed by e-mail. There is no direct contact between the consumer and the restaurant; so, if errors occur, the consumer must re-contact Campus Foods or call the restaurant.
Lack of direct contact also requires that delivery times be estimated. Although this fax based ordering system has advantages over the basic telephone, it still has certain drawbacks due to the lack of direct contact between the consumer and the restaurant.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 200210198790A1 describes a system and method for ordering goods and/or services where a user registers with an order server to store information relating to the user's preferences and stores personal information such as address, credit card information, etc. A consumer order is directed to the server and a vendor for the chosen items is selected based on the stored preferences. This method also suffers from the same drawbacks set forth above due to the lack of direct and immediate contact between the consumer and the vendor.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0026076A1 describes an on-line ordering system for a retail establishment including a restaurant. A user enters a URL into a browser to locate a first web page which may include a list of restaurants. The user selects a restaurant and receives a second web page which may include a menu. Items are selected and entered along with contact information and payment information and a response is sent to the user after an order is placed. Order information is sent to a server and from there directly to a credit card authorization terminal associated with the restaurant.
This publication generally describes a basic on line ordering system. Although it has advantages over the system described above, it does not offer the flexibility and ease of use for the consumer and the vendor that is inherent with use of the invention described herein.
It is, therefore, a further object of the present invention to provide an ordering system and method which is fast, accurate and easy to use for the consumer and the vendor, provides direct contact between the consumer and the vendor and takes advantage of the communication features available with instant messaging services.